It’s about time I started a build thread on my tank. This first post is going to be long but, it has been a few years since I started my 180 FOWLR tank with lots of ups and downs! So here we go. I started the hobby in 2008 and had a few smaller tanks throughout the years (10 to 50 gal). Then in Sept of 2013 I bought a used 180 gallon complete setup. It came with an external return pump that was extremely noisy. My husband said I had to do something about the noise or get rid of it the tank! I did my research, and after arguing with my husband over the price of this pump, and some tears, (tears always help to get my way) I bought a Royal Exclusiv Red Dragon 3, 80 watt pump(he did say it needed to be silent, and nothing more silent then a red dragon!) and upgraded the skimmer to a Reef Octopus Elite 200int with dc pump. Problem solved, tank is near silent and husband is happy!
I barely started stocking the tank when in Nov of 2013 the tank started leaking a little. So, after more tears, I bought a new AGA 180 tank (same as old leaking tank so it would be plug and play as far as set up.)
I slowly stocked the tank over a couple of years (I QT everything, one fish at a time so, it took a while) with a tinkeri butterfly, pakistan butterfly, fox face, blue striped butterfly, pair of watanabei angelfish, white tail tang, a couple of shrimp gobies with shrimp. And a few other smaller fish, I don’t remember what all I had back then. All was going well until the spring/summer of 2017, then fish started slowly dying. Something slipped through my qt process. I took one fish to my exotic vet and she diagnosed my fish with fish pox, (fish herpes). No cure! It is a slow killer and over the next 8 to 9 months I lost all fish. I was devastated to see all my fish die and nothing I could do but start over.
So, start over is what I did.! I tore down the tank and bleached and disinfected everything to get a new start. In December of 2017 I started restocking. Since I was starting over, I had an idea to make this a “pair” themed tank. Meaning most fish would be in pairs or groups. Thought it would be cool to see how they interact with each other like in the wild. I did a lot and I mean a lot of research for this project! Oh, by the way, not all fish live in pairs or groups. Some just meet up for mating purposes and then part ways. And some remain partners for life.
That’s all for today, I will post more later on my current stock list.
I barely started stocking the tank when in Nov of 2013 the tank started leaking a little. So, after more tears, I bought a new AGA 180 tank (same as old leaking tank so it would be plug and play as far as set up.)
I slowly stocked the tank over a couple of years (I QT everything, one fish at a time so, it took a while) with a tinkeri butterfly, pakistan butterfly, fox face, blue striped butterfly, pair of watanabei angelfish, white tail tang, a couple of shrimp gobies with shrimp. And a few other smaller fish, I don’t remember what all I had back then. All was going well until the spring/summer of 2017, then fish started slowly dying. Something slipped through my qt process. I took one fish to my exotic vet and she diagnosed my fish with fish pox, (fish herpes). No cure! It is a slow killer and over the next 8 to 9 months I lost all fish. I was devastated to see all my fish die and nothing I could do but start over.
So, start over is what I did.! I tore down the tank and bleached and disinfected everything to get a new start. In December of 2017 I started restocking. Since I was starting over, I had an idea to make this a “pair” themed tank. Meaning most fish would be in pairs or groups. Thought it would be cool to see how they interact with each other like in the wild. I did a lot and I mean a lot of research for this project! Oh, by the way, not all fish live in pairs or groups. Some just meet up for mating purposes and then part ways. And some remain partners for life.
That’s all for today, I will post more later on my current stock list.
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